Congratulations to Justice Cantil-Sakauye!

Last night I had the privilege of participating in a wonderful event: the Investiture Celebration for Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye ’84.  Hosted by the Sacramento Bar Association with support from the School of Law, the investiture drew more than 900 members of Sacramento’s legal community—including a large proportion of UC Davis alumni, faculty, and students, to judge by the applause that greeted UC Davis references from the podium!

I was seated at a table with UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi and her husband Spyros Tseregounis, a Lecturer in the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering, our new Provost Ralph Hexter, Victoria Hassid ’10, and Davis Mayor Joe Krovoza ’94.  Seated around the spacious hall were King Hall Alumni Board Members Gene Woo ’85, Steve Boutin ’72, Carol Livingston ’80, Stacy Boulware-Eurie ’95, Michael Mills ’97, Alberto Roldan’92, Grace Arupo ’02, Demtrius Shelton ’93, and Charity Kenyon ’77.  State Senator Darrell Steinberg ’84 stopped by to give his regards.  Also in attendance were more than 25 King Hall faculty and staff, 10 student volunteers who helped with the event, and more than 100 other alumni. 

I was pleased to be asked to deliver a few remarks, and I did my best to summarize how proud we are at King Hall of the new Chief Justice and how much we appreciate all that she does.  I talked about how as a young woman, the Chief Justice had been inspired by another of our alums, Gloria Ochoa ’76, a Filipina attorney who served as a role model for her, and how Justice Cantil-Sakauye has volunteered to visit King Hall, speaking to students in our King Hall Outreach Program and our 1Ls, and serving as a role model for the next generation.  Here is a part of what I said:

“We at UC Davis are proud of Justice Cantil-Sakauye. At the School of Law, we see her story as our story. In about 40 years, UC Davis School of Law has progressed from humble beginnings, from the first classes held in trailers to a state-of-the-art Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall. Who would have thought that this start-up law school would quickly produce alums who would lead California, not only the courts, but also the state Legislature, where Darrell Steinberg is President pro Tem of the Senate and Charles Calderon, Majority Leader of the Assembly.    Congratulations, once again, to Justice Cantil-Sakauye!”